01
Trigger
Note, rider and prepayment provision
Ask whether the clause treats sale, refinancing and partial curtailment differently; do not assume an exception.
Loan terms · field guide
Read the prepayment clause before comparing exit costs
Identify the trigger, calculation base, period and exceptions instead of treating every penalty as the same percentage.
Sources checked November 1, 2026 · Educational document review · No loan offer
Build the evidence before choosing an input
02
Calculation
Contract formula and lender illustration
Record the base amount, percentage or other method, thresholds and any minimum charge.
03
Expiration
Contractual start date and period boundaries
Use exact dates and how the contract counts them. A label such as year three is insufficient.
Fictional percentage illustration
An authored teaching record; amounts and situations are fictional, not market statistics or actual borrower files.
- Assume a contract charges 2% of a $200,000 unpaid principal balance for the specified full payoff event.
- Charge: 0.02 × $200,000 = $4,000.
- If a different applicable clause were 1% of the same balance, the charge would be $2,000.
The $2,000 difference is arithmetic under invented clauses, not a claim that either provision is offered or enforceable.
Turn the record into a usable next step
- 1
Request the complete clause before comparing quotes. Record the event you plan—sale, refinance or partial payment—and ask which provision applies.
- 2
Ask the servicer to illustrate the charge at your intended payoff date. Keep a changeable unpaid balance and date-dependent period separate from the original loan amount.
- 3
Include the confirmed charge in the exit-cost comparison and consult qualified counsel where enforceability or transaction classification is uncertain. Retain the response with the quote.
What this evidence does not settle
Consumer-loan restrictions and exceptions cannot be assumed to govern every business-purpose DSCR loan. This guide explains the review questions; it gives no legal determination about a particular clause.
Sources and scope
- CFPB — What is a prepayment penalty?
Defines early-payoff charges; the signed contract determines the actual terms.
Read November 1, 2026. This is the check date, not a new effective date for the source.
- CFPB — Closing Disclosure explainer
Separates prepaids, escrow, monthly costs and closing adjustments in consumer-loan documents.
Read November 1, 2026. This is the check date, not a new effective date for the source.
The review steps are DSCRDealCheck’s editorial checklist. Agency guides and consumer mortgage explainers define documents and concepts; they do not establish a DSCR provider’s program rules or guarantee that consumer disclosure requirements apply to business-purpose financing. See the transaction-scope distinction in Regulation Z. Confirm the actual file with the provider and the relevant qualified professional.
Continue the loan terms review
Choose the unresolved document in your file. Each guide addresses a different input or obligation.